/berrd"euhv par"euh duys', -duyz'/ , n. , pl. birds-of-paradise .
1. Also called bird-of-paradise flower . any of several plants of the genus Strelitzia, native to southern Africa, esp. S. reginae, having a large, showy orange and blue inflorescence.
2. a small tree or shrub, Caesalpinia ( Poinciana ) gilliesii, native to South America, having featherlike leaves and showy yellow flowers with red stamens.
[ 1880-85 ]